Technique of tea manufacture

Only processed during several
procedures can fresh leaves of tea show economic value, becoming different
kinds of semi-manufactured tea or finished product. Characteristic of
some ingredient of fresh leaf that bring about acerbity and grass flavor
is changed after properly manufactured. Thus, delicious beverage of tea
can be made out.

The manufacture of tea includes elementary restriction, refinery, and
additional process. Quality of tea is decided mostly by the elementary
restriction, the foundation of high quality. Under different manufacture
craft, fresh leaf is processed into six different tea genera--green
tea, yellow tea, black
tea, white
tea, oolong
tea and dark tea. Quality of tea depends on combination and coordination
of each manufacture procedure, including fixation, yellowing, pile-fermentation,
withering, making green, fermenting, rolling and drying. Development of
science and technology has advanced the skill of tea manufacture, from
the most early solar-drying skill, the steaming skill in Tang dynasty,
to roasting skill, and to fermenting skill. Thus there come into being
the six main tea species. Meanwhile great progress has been made in tea
manufacture fashion, developed from handiwork to waterwheel power mill
to make dumpling tea. At the beginning of the 20th century, machine was
first applied in black
tea production in India. Since mechanism has been used in Japan to
make steamed green tea.
Now tea manufacture is gradually developing to series production, automation
and completely sealed, to guarantee the safety and hygiene of the product.